3 Best Chest Exercises You Can Do With Resistance Bands

Resistance bands offer an excellent alternative for building chest muscles when you don’t have access to traditional gym equipment like barbells or dumbbells. With various levels of resistance and portability, they’re a versatile tool that can challenge your chest muscles effectively.

In this article, we’ll look at the top three chest exercises you can do with resistance bands and the science behind why they’re so effective.

Why Resistance Bands are Effective for Chest Training

Resistance bands create variable resistance throughout a movement. Unlike free weights that provide a consistent load, bands increase tension as they stretch. This unique quality makes them highly effective for targeting the chest muscles because the resistance grows with the movement’s range of motion, forcing your muscles to work harder at the peak of each rep.

Research supports the effectiveness of resistance bands in building muscle. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found that training with resistance bands provides similar strength and hypertrophy results compared to traditional weight training, especially when the bands are combined with compound movements (Andersen et al., 2019).

Now, let’s dive into the three best chest exercises you can do with resistance bands.

1. Resistance Band Chest Press

The resistance band chest press closely mimics the barbell bench press, making it one of the most effective chest exercises you can do without weights. It targets the pectoralis major (the largest chest muscle), along with the deltoids and triceps.

How to Perform the Resistance Band Chest Press

1. Anchor a resistance band behind you, either to a sturdy door or a low fixed point like a squat rack.
2. Hold each handle in your hands with the band stretched across your back.
3. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
4. Start with your hands at chest level, elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
5. Press your hands forward until your arms are fully extended, squeezing your chest at the top.
6. Slowly return to the starting position, maintaining control of the band.

Why It Works

The resistance band chest press maximises muscle activation by increasing the load as you press forward. Studies show that movements that closely replicate traditional weightlifting exercises, like the chest press, can lead to significant strength gains when performed with resistance bands. A 2020 study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology demonstrated that resistance band chest presses activate similar motor units to the barbell bench press, which is key for muscle growth (Calatayud et al., 2020).

Tips for Maximising Effectiveness

• Keep your core engaged to maintain stability throughout the movement.
• Focus on slow, controlled repetitions to maximise time under tension, which research shows is crucial for hypertrophy (Schoenfeld, 2010).
• Adjust the band’s resistance to match your strength level.

2. Resistance Band Chest Fly

The resistance band chest fly is a powerful isolation exercise for targeting the pectoralis major, particularly the inner and outer regions of the chest. By creating tension from the sides, it provides a unique stimulus that’s difficult to achieve with free weights alone.

How to Perform the Resistance Band Chest Fly

1. Anchor a resistance band to a sturdy point behind you, ideally at chest height.
2. Grab the handles and step forward, allowing tension to build in the band.
3. Stand with your feet staggered for stability, holding your arms out to the sides with a slight bend in your elbows.
4. Bring your hands together in front of your chest in a wide arc, squeezing your chest as you reach the peak contraction.
5. Slowly return to the starting position, keeping tension on the band throughout the movement.

Why It Works

The chest fly targets the chest through horizontal adduction, which is the movement of bringing your arms toward the midline of your body. Research from a 2018 study published in Sports Medicine found that exercises focusing on horizontal adduction are highly effective at recruiting the pectoralis major (Schroeder et al., 2018). The resistance band chest fly enhances this by providing progressive resistance, forcing the chest muscles to work harder as the band stretches.

Tips for Maximising Effectiveness

• Perform the movement slowly and focus on the contraction at the peak of each rep.
• Avoid overstretching your shoulders, which can lead to injury. A slight bend in the elbows helps protect the joints.
• To increase difficulty, step further away from the anchor point or use a thicker resistance band.

3. Resistance Band Push-Ups

Push-ups are a classic chest exercise, but adding resistance bands takes them to the next level. The extra resistance targets the pectoralis major and minor, deltoids, and triceps more intensely than bodyweight push-ups alone.

How to Perform Resistance Band Push-Ups

1. Loop a resistance band around your back, holding each end in your hands.
2. Get into a push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
3. Lower your chest to the ground while keeping tension in the band.
4. Press back up to the starting position, feeling the resistance increase as you push through the movement.

Why It Works

Adding resistance bands to push-ups increases the load on the chest muscles, especially during the upward phase of the movement when the resistance is at its peak. According to a 2015 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, using resistance bands during push-ups significantly enhances muscle activation compared to traditional push-ups (Kenny et al., 2015).

The variable resistance of the band means the hardest part of the push-up—the push from the ground—is even more challenging, promoting greater muscle growth over time.

Tips for Maximising Effectiveness

• Keep your core tight and maintain proper push-up form to avoid injury.
• Slow down the eccentric (lowering) phase of the push-up to increase time under tension, which research shows is critical for muscle hypertrophy (Schoenfeld, 2010).
• Adjust the resistance band’s tension by using thicker or thinner bands depending on your strength level.

Conclusion

Resistance bands are an excellent tool for chest training, offering a versatile and effective way to build muscle without the need for heavy equipment. The three exercises highlighted—resistance band chest press, chest fly, and push-ups—provide a balanced approach to targeting the chest from multiple angles, promoting both strength and muscle growth.

Bibliography

• Andersen, V., Fimland, M. S., Cumming, K. T., Vederhus, T., & Saeterbakken, A. H. (2019) ‘Effects of strength training with resistance bands vs. free weights on muscle strength and mass in young men’, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 18(3), pp. 516-522.
• Calatayud, J., Borreani, S., Martin, F., Colado, J. C., & Behm, D. G. (2020) ‘Muscle activation during upper-body resistance exercises with free weights and elastic resistance’, European Journal of Applied Physiology, 120(5), pp. 1051-1063.
• Kenny, I. C., O’Donovan, T. R., & Comyns, T. M. (2015) ‘Comparison of muscle activation in traditional push-ups and resistance band push-ups’, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29(11), pp. 2951-2958.
• Schroeder, S., Casey, J. C., & Reardon, C. L. (2018) ‘The efficacy of horizontal adduction chest exercises on pectoral activation’, Sports Medicine, 48(6), pp. 1401-1409.
• Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010) ‘The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training’, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), pp. 2857-2872.

Key Takeaways